Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain
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Acute pain following amputation can be challenging to treat due to multiple underlying mechanisms and variable clinical responses to treatment. Furthermore, poorly controlled preoperative pain is a risk factor for developing chronic pain. Evidence suggests that epidural analgesia and peripheral nerve blockade may decrease the severity of residual limb pain and the prevalence of phantom pain after lower extremity amputation. ⋯ A multimodal analgesic regimen was utilized, including titration of preoperative opioid and neuropathic pain agents, perioperative intravenous, epidural and peripheral nerve catheter infusions, and postoperative oral medication titration. More than 8 months postoperatively, the patient has satisfactory pain control with no evidence for phantom limb pain. To our knowledge, there have been no publications to date concerning analgesic regimens in four-limb amputation.
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Chronic migraine, a subtype of migraine defined as ≥ 15 headache days per month for ≥ 3 months, in which ≥ 8 days per month meet criteria for migraine with or without aura or respond to migraine-specific treatment, is a disabling, underdiagnosed, and undertreated disorder associated with significant disability, poor health-related quality of life, and high economic burden. The keys to caring for chronic migraine patients include: (1) making a proper diagnosis; (2) identifying and eliminating exacerbating factors; (3) assessing for medication overuse (patients with chronic headache often overuse acute medications); and (4) continued management. Communication between patient and physician about treatment goals is important. The patient management guidelines presented in this article should help physicians improve treatment success and proactively address common comorbidities among their patients with chronic migraine.
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Chronic noncancer pain influences patient's quality of life and their ability to cope. Pain relieving medication and other specific treatments commonly integrated in biopsychosocial rehabilitation demonstrate modest benefits in pain relief and improved functioning of individuals. Spiritual care, covering the fourth dimension provides insight, inspires hope and purpose, and is thought to mediate mental and physical health for patients. This study explores the need for its inclusion in interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation and describes the requirements and test environment for evaluation. ⋯ Active coping seems beneficial for maintaining positive long-term outcomes of interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation Spiritual care may be conducive to active coping. Further research is warranted to explore the additive value of this spiritual care in the context of a multidimensional care pathway.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Efficacy of the Greater Occipital Nerve Block for Cervicogenic Headache: Comparing Classical and Subcompartmental Techniques.
The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy of the greater occipital nerve (GON) block using the classical technique and different volumes of injectate with the subcompartmental technique for the treatment of cervicogenic headache (CH). ⋯ While the classical technique for GON block resulted in only 2 weeks of analgesia, the subcompartmental technique resulted in at least 24 weeks of analgesia, being 5 mL volume sufficient for the performance of the block under fluoroscopy.
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Postoperative pain is commonly assessed through a numerical rating scale (NRS), an 11-point scale where 0 indicates no pain and 10 indicates the worst imaginable pain. Guidelines advise the administration of analgesics at NRS pain scores above 3 or 4. In clinical practice, not all patients with pain scores above the treatment threshold are willing to accept additional analgesic treatment, especially when opioids are offered. The objective of this study is to measure the relation between patients' NRS pain scores and their desire for additional opioids. ⋯ With the current guidelines (ie, using pain scores above 3 or 4 for prescribing opioids), many patients could be overtreated. Therefore, scores generated by the NRS should be interpreted individually.